Many can attest to the back-breaking danger of having to bend over to lift manhole covers, often weighing over one hundred pounds, condensed into lead or concrete discs. While there have been numerous attempts to make it easier to lift manhole covers, a testament to the universal difficulty found in lifting such heavy covers worldwide, few if any such attempts focus specifically on the convenience and portability of cover lifting tools, and as a result few have become popular in public usage. Some such as the Kono patent ('706) focus on having wheels with a base set at a fixed pivot point to act as a lever brace, but this fixed point is not adjustable. Others such as the Dodge patent ('300) have bulkier designs which are not suitable for quick transportation from one manhole to the next, for setup by one individual, a quality which could be quite helpful for crews needing to work in roadways in limited time. Finally, there are disclosures of completely hand-operated picks with similar designs that force the user to insert the manhole cover pick at angles that are difficult to set up, and in some cases could lead to back injury. The main priorities emphasized in such disclosures are speed of setup, ergonomic ease of use, and safety.
According to a 2003 report from the Liberty Mutual Fund Institute for Safety, “opening manhole covers was the biggest cause of accidents in the utility industry.” The report describes workers being injured while lifting manhole covers, often causing lower back disorder (LBD) due to overexertion in lifting manhole covers. Others had severe injuries from broken feet and broken or amputated fingers and toes. Previous tool designs intended to address manhole-cover lifting injuries are large and cumbersome, requiring more time and effort to set up and use. The importance of an inexpensive, effective, and easy to use tool that can relieve these types of injuries cannot be overstated. Thus, the present disclosure strives to find one or more practical and creative solutions to addressing problems in the art, and assisting in the lever technology industry overall, including but not limited to manhole picks. While the embodiments disclosed herein may aid users in the water distribution field with lifting manhole covers quickly and safely, it is envisioned that the disclosed embodiments can be used for everything from workers in other utility trades lifting manhole covers to pit crews removing tires in a service lane for NASCAR, INDYCAR, and Formula One races.